Labor Will Not Join Likud Govt

Labor Party leader Shimon Peres told newsmen after a meeting with Menachem Begin today that Labor will not join a Likud-led national unity coalition government. He said the party’s various bodies made that decision and stand by it. Begin said afterwards that he would continue to meet with Peres once a week to discuss political and defense problems pending the formation of a new government.

Begin also met with Premier Yitzhak Rabin at the latter’s Tel Aviv office this morning to discuss the technical details of transferring authority from the outgoing regime to the new government. He said that only questions of a practical nature were discussed. The subject of a Likud-Labor coalition partnership was not raised. Rabin said he would have further meetings with Begin to expedite the governmental transfer. Likud will appoint liaison men to each government department to ensure a smooth transition.